A beautiful example of an emperor dragonfly. This female has just transformed from nymph to adult and, too weak to fly, hangs onto a rush and tries to not to be noticed.
Emperor dragonfly.
Chitter chatter
Day 20 and the owlets are gaining their fluffy coats so soon the female won’t need to keep them warm and can go out hunting with the male. The remaining eggs look dirty and she has almost certainly given up on them.
Exception to the rule
We’ve made the decision to add a non-native species to the pond: grass carp. Originally from Asia where they are used to get rid of weeds in paddy fields and that is what we need them for here. We have the first signs of broadleaved pondweed in the pond and really do not want it to take hold as it could completely take over, as it has done in the small pond.
The fish are herbivores and won’t eat amphibia or other fish, and won’t breed either and so are a safe and hopefully effective form of weed control. So long as the herons don’t eat them.
This one isn’t limping
Clearly not the lame heron that has been visiting the pond. This one seems quite happy stalking the fish (and frogs, toads and newts).
Getting bigger
The female is struggling to control the three hatchlings and sit on the remaining eggs at the same time. The oldest is now two weeks old and all three are doing well, with the male bringing back plenty of food each night.
Pink and wriggly
The three hatchlings are doing well; getting bigger, bolder and harder for the female to keep under her. The male is not interested at all!
3 hatchlings, 4 eggs
Another egg has hatched (the last of the original three) and yet another egg has been laid; a total of seven eggs which is more than we have ever had before.
2 hatchlings, 4 eggs
Another egg has hatched, but another egg has also been laid! Very unusual. There are now two hatchlings (both doing well) and four eggs. Three of these have only been laid recently and even if they hatch they are unlikely to survive as the chicks will be so much smaller than the older ones.
First hatchling of 2022
The first barn owl egg has hatched, 33 days after it it was laid, and the hatchling is doing well so far. The next egg should hopefully hatch in a couple of days. The female may even lay another egg too (but that would be unusual). We’ll keep you posted!
The male was out early this evening, an hour before dusk. He now has a growing family to feed so needs to get started early.
A day later and another egg has appeared; the eggs are hatching as more are being laid. Very odd!
One hatchling, four eggs (and five field voles!)
Fish thief!
At last caught on camera: the fish thief! This grey heron has been visiting for a while, leaving big footprints in the mud around the pond, but today’s the first time he’s triggered the trail cam. Does seem to be limping though. Hopefully will get more footage soon with a better view.
A gaggle of geece
Five greylag geece visited the pond this morning; lovely to see but the the appetite of geece can be rather destructive to fragile pond plants. They didn’t stay long, treating the pond rather like a motorway service station, and once they had their fill off they went, heading north.
The happy couple
A rare chance to see both barn owl faces. They don’t often look up at the camera but another bird landed noisily on top of the nest box and disturbed them.
The first egg of the year
The barn owls haven’t wasted any time this spring and the female has just produced her first egg! She’ll stay in the nest box now as she lays more eggs over the next few days and the male will now do all the hunting for them both, so they’ll both be kept busy.
It’s early in the year still and the weather is unpredictable, but so long as there isn’t prolonged rain or snow covering the ground they should be fine.
Update 24 April 2022. Only three eggs this year (compared to six last year). It might have been the warm weather early this spring that started the female laying earlier than usual and the subsequent cold weather that stopped her after three. Whatever reason, three is what she has, and so far things are going well with the male bringing back plenty of prey. The first egg should hatch this week, fingers crossed.
Update 1 May 2022. 31 days since the first egg was laid and it should have hatched today, but we find the female has laid a fourth egg instead. Very strange behaviour: it might be she was waiting for the weather to warm up, or it was too cold for the first three and she’s started again. We’ll know over the next few days.
Kestrels wanted
We have a new nest box on one of the old oak trees on the edge of the field: this one for kestrels. Thanks to John and Mary from Talon Nest Boxes. Now we wait…
Toad time
And now it’s time for the toads: unlike frogs they’re quite happy to be out on dry land.
Oystercatchers
A long way from home* but these three oystercatchers seem happy enough rootling around the edge of the pond.
*Shropshire isn’t renowned for its coast, or oysters!
A hare and its predators
Filmed over two nights on the same camera at a busy crossroads: a hare, a cat, a fox and a badger.
And here’s a composition of all four to show their relative sizes (the hare is closer to the camera so it looks bigger than it is).
How baby barn owls are made
WARNING. Do not watch if you have a nervous disposition. It’s not pretty and there’s not much romance involved but it’s what barn owls do in spring!
Daytime owls
And now we have a pair of barn owls in the nest box, busy attending to each other and waiting the day out until they get get back out in the dark to hunt.
Hare
We spotted this brown hare a few days ago running at full pelt into the distance but this morning filmed it on the trail cam undisturbed in the early morning sun. It is coming into the field (we hope looking for a nesting site) through the holes in the hedge that the badgers make. Unfortunately badgers and hares don’t mix well together but there’s not way we can let one in but not the other: we’ll have to leave nature to do its thing.